Audrey II Theatre Replica

Hoof 'n' Horn, a theatrical group at Duke, needed a replica of Audrey II to be used in their play Little Shop of Horrors. This Audrey II has to be able to "consume" actors and transport them back stage. They needed one that was able to be used on the unique black-box type stage they were using for the play. After interviewing the play director and some actors we learned:

1. The replica of Audrey II must not harm any actors that get "consumed by it"
2. It must fit on the stage, so it has to be smaller than a certain set of dimensions
3. It will be used for multiple shows and several times per show, so it must be durable enough to last.
4. They will decorate it, so we only need to build the shell for them to decorate.

Pros:

1. The top mouth was sturdy and the hinge was lightweight and easy to use
2. The overall size and weight of our prototype was perfect

Cons:

1. An actor could not step into the plant without breaking it.
2. Our plant did not conceal the actor at all once they were consumed.

After analyzing what our intitial to-scale prototype suceeded and failed at, we built our final prototype which was delievered to Hoof 'n' Horn. The changes consisted of:

1. Wooden walls on the base to allow for the actor to be concealed when stepping/falling into the contraption
2. Paper Mache to conceal the actor from all angles while inside the plant
3. Wheels on the bottom of our contraption to make transportation easier

This was my first engineering project completed at Duke University. The course I completed this project in, EGR101, taught me many relevant skills in the context of working with a team for a client. Outside of building the actual prototype, we were tasked with creating technical memos and presentations that were given to students and faculty at Duke University.